We all scream for ice cream!

What’s summer without ice cream? And, since we have two full months before the official start of the fall season, there’s still enough time to pop into your favorite ice cream shop and then get outdoors to enjoy it under the warm Billings sun.

Trying to come up with three of the best ice cream parlors in and around Billings is a tough job so we queried friends and clients about their favorite spots to buy a cone or cup and here are the winners.

Spinners

It should come as no surprise that the locally-owned and operated Spinners was one of the most frequently mentioned when we asked folks where they go for ice cream, sorbet and fro yo. As one Yelp reviewer put it, “The price is good-location is good-love the decor too!”

The location, by the way, is at 3031 Grand Ave. in Billings, adjacent to Subway. Some of the most-frequently mentioned flavors include birthday cake, the watermelon sorbet and peanut-butter cup fro-yo.

The toppings bar is brilliant, with a huge selection of fresh fruit, candies and nuts to top Spinners’ 24 flavors of ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt.

Call them for their current hours 406- 969-4750.

Big Dipper

What’s a 15-minute wait when you have a craving for a certain flavor of ice cream? And, if that ice cream is Big Dipper’s maple walnut or bananas foster, it’s well worth the wait, especially if you plop those scoops on one of Big Dipper’s homemade waffle cones.

Big Dipper has both a set menu of flavors and daily switch-ups that they promote via their Facebook page. Follow them to find out when they’ll be offering pomegranate sorbet, key lime pie fro-yo and coconut almond chocolate chip.

Big Dipper is open from noon until 10 p.m. daily at 100 N. Broadway, at the corner of 1st Ave. N. Oh, you can sit outside as well!

Softies

No mention of local ice cream and frozen yogurt shops is complete without including Softies. A Billings institution of more than 50 years, many locals mark the seasonal shop’s annual opening as the start of spring.

More of a “stand” than a shop, Softies serves up everyone’s favorites and also surprises customers with new flavors of frozen yogurt throughout the season.